Cry for Help
by Clever Lass
Summary: When Angel goes bad and fires all his employees, Cordy calls on the S'dale gang for help with the Darla, Dru, and Angel situation. Who shows up? Spike and Buffy, of coursethat unstoppable duo who hate working together! sequel is on its wayfret not


Timeline: Angel has just fired all of his employees so he can dedicate himself to going after Darla, Drusilla, and the W&H lawyers. Buffy's boyfriend Riley has just left, after cheating on her with some vampire hookers.

Disclaimer: How on earth would I come up with such madness on my own? It's Joss'. The songs belong to Annie Lennox, the Headstones, and Melissa Etheridge, respectively. Only the lowly plot is mine.  
  
Warning: Contains one little, ittsy-bittsy character death.

###

**Cry for Help**

"...So, to make a long story short, Giles, I think we need help." Cordelia fiddled nervously with the telephone wire, hoping Angel wouldn't come in here and find her.  
  
"The long story seems to be, uh, fairly long," Giles remarked. His head was spinning. Cordelia had given him a super-condensed version -- that Darla was alive, she and Drusilla were together again, and Angel had gone bad again and let them kill a bunch a lawyers and then fired all three of his employees. "What do you want me to do?" he asked.  
  
"I don't know, maybe send the slayer up here to do her job? Since Angel can't seem to do his," Cordelia said bitterly.  
  
"I don't think that would be wise, Cordelia," Giles said. "Buffy's boyfriend has just left her to rejoin the army. She's a little -- um, unfocused at the moment."  
  
"Meaning, all she needs is to see Angel again, and if he hasn't gone completely bad, their being together would tip him over the edge again. I get it." Cordelia sighed. "Well, any suggestions?"  
  
"Let me talk it over with the others, Cordelia. I'll call you back a little later."  
  
Cordelia glanced nervously at the door again. "Okay, but let me give you my home number. I don't know what Angel would do if he caught me here."  
  
"Cordelia, get out," Angel's flat voice reached her from the stairway. "I could have you arrested for trespassing, you know."  
  
"Angel!" Cordelia said with a false brightness. She put the receiver down next to the telephone, so Giles could hear it -- but to Angel's point of view, it looked as if she'd hung up. "You can't have me arrested. I'm vision-girl, remember? Working toward your redemption by saving the people in my visions?"  
  
Angel walked toward her, slowly and deliberately. "I've changed my mind. I don't need redemption. And if I killed you right now, then neither of us would be bothered by those pesky visions anymore. What do you think, is it a plan?"  
  
Just then he noticed the telephone. "Oh, tricky!" He picked up the receiver and said, "Hello? Oh, Giles! Cordy calling to give you a heads-up? Well, let me give you one, old man. If you send the slayer up here, I'll kill her. Got it? Good." He was about to hang up when he noticed the door was open, Cordelia having escaped out into the sunlight. "Oh, man! Giles, you made me lose my lunch!" He swore and slammed the phone down.  
  
Giles echoed his curse and slammed his own telephone down. Willow looked up from her laptop. "Giles? What's up? What did Cordelia have to say?"  
  
"They're in trouble up there," Giles muttered, as he quickly dialed another number. "Hello, Xander? Can you get the group together and meet me at the shop in an hour? Yes, thanks. Oh, and Xander?" Giles wasn't sure whether to ask or not, but he finally took the plunge. "Can you drop by the cemetery and ask Spike to come as well? Yes, as a matter of fact, I do know what I'm talking about! I'll see you at the shop." He hung up and sat quietly for a moment before he told Willow what had happened.  
  
"See if you can find out anything about this law firm, Willow. They must have a web-site, and maybe you can contact Cordelia at her apartment and get some more information. I'll tell the others when they arrive."  
  
Willow stared, but decided not to ask questions. "I'll go home and do it now. Call me when you've decided what to do, and I'll call you if I find anything." She took her bag and left.  
  
At the shop, the gang assembled slowly and quietly, for a change. Tara was away visiting her cousin, having decided to emancipate the other women in her family, but all the others were there. Xander and Anya sat together with Buffy across from them, while Spike watched Buffy guardedly from a shadowy corner.  
  
"Giles? What's the big? Xander didn't tell us anything." Buffy asked.  
  
"Yeah, that's 'cause I wasn't told anything myself. Not even why we had to invite him," Xander said, gesturing toward Spike's corner.  
  
"Don't worry about that, chum. I couldn't even tell you myself why I came," Spike retorted.  
  
"Quiet," ordered Giles wearily. He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "You were all asked to come here because we have a new problem. Not here, actually; it's in Los Angeles."  
  
Buffy looked up sharply. Giles went on, "We need to help Cordelia and Wesley. And Spike was invited here today because it involves him slightly, too." Spike looked puzzled. "Drusilla is there, you see, and she and Darla -- "  
  
"Dru's there?" Spike asked, surprised.  
  
"The dead Darla?" Buffy interrupted.  
  
"The Darla who was dead, but who was brought back to life, human life, by an evil team of lawyers, but who was dying again when the lawyers brought in Drusilla who made Darla a vampire again. Yes. That Darla." Giles said all in one breath.  
  
"Boy, that just destroys my high respect for the honorable profession of law," Xander said.  
  
Spike shook his head. "So what's the king of the hair gel doing about it?" Buffy glared at him, but he ignored her.  
  
"Cordelia seems to think Angel has gone bad again," Giles said, also carefully not looking at Buffy. "He threatened to kill her while she was on the phone to me, but she got away."  
  
"Boy, that guy gets all the fun," Anya said enviously.  
  
Spike sniggered, then glanced defensively around the glaring circle. "Hey, I didn't say it this time!"  
  
"So what do we do?" Xander asked.  
  
"That's what I called you all here to discuss. Under ordinary circumstances, I would send Buffy up there to take care of matters, but -- "  
  
Buffy nodded grimly. "These circumstances aren't ordinary. Damn!"  
  
Spike surprised himself and everyone else by suddenly saying, "I'll go." Dead silence and skeptical looks met his statement. "What? I said I'll go."  
  
"Go and do what? Join forces with your old cronies?" Buffy asked. "I don't think so. I'll go myself before I'll take a chance on that!"  
  
"Join forces? As if!" Spike sputtered. "Oh, hell, I'm even starting to talk like you lot of losers. Look, I owe Dru a good staking! And Darla -- ! I never liked that silly bint anyway."  
  
"Yes, like you'd actually kill Dru. One crook of her finger and you'd be back by her side in the heartbeat you don't have!" Buffy shot back.  
  
"Don't be daft, Slayer. Even IF I wanted her back, which I don't, what the hell would I do? I still can't kill things, even if I wanted to!"  
  
Xander spoke up to forestall further bickering. "Hey, here's a wacky notion. Why don't you both go? You can keep an eye on each other and make sure neither of you goes back to your ex-honeys. Not that you would," he finished quickly as both Buffy and Spike turned to glare at him. Then they quickly turned back to glower at each other again.  
  
Giles thought. Xander sometimes came up with very good ideas, and he considered this one with the Ripper part of his brain while the Watcher part of his brain screamed at him and waved yellow "Caution" tapes in front of his eyes. As had been happening more and more frequently in recent days, the Ripper part of him won by brute force. "Buffy, it's not actually a bad idea," he admitted.  
  
She took a quick break from glaring at Spike to glare at him. "Giles, are you nuts?  
  
Spike said, "I don't know that it's such a bad idea either, Slayer." At her disbelieving stare, he went on slowly, "Well, think about it. If Angel has gone bad again, do you really want to face him alone? Last time we teamed up against him, we won. And believe me -- " he paused to grin, "if you're with me, that'll just send Drusilla over the edge! She'll be so mad she won't be thinking straight -- not that she ever did -- and that'll give us a chance to take care of Darla."  
  
Accordingly, they set out the next night in Spike's car. Buffy was determined not to talk to him during the ride up, no matter what. This didn't seem to faze him, though, as he drove in bland silence.  
  
She leaned forward after a while and turned on the radio, trying to find a station that would irritate him. She found one that played "easy-listening favorites," and, with a grin, left it there. He made no response, except to open his window and light up a cigarette.  
  
After the second Manilow song in a row, Buffy began to regret her decision. When the next song was Cat Stevens, she knew she'd made a mistake. The one after that was Bette Midler's "Wind Beneath My Wings." This one got a reaction from Spike, but all he did was reach over and turn it up a little.  
  
Then she remembered that was the song she'd wanted for their first dance, when Willow's spell had gone awry and she and Spike had been engaged. Face flaming, she snapped the radio off. Spike chuckled quietly in the darkness and threw out his cigarette. Neither one spoke until they arrived at Cordelia's apartment two hours later.  
  
Cordy greeted them with a dubious welcome. She was loudly expressing her doubt about inviting Spike into her apartment, when suddenly the door swung wide open by itself. "Oh, all right," she said with a sigh. "You may as well come in and meet Dennis."  
  
"Dennis? You have a guy?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Well, not exactly. I have a ghost." At that moment, Gunn and Wesley showed up at the door. "I also seem to have co-workers." She introduced the two of them, then to the empty air, Cordelia said, "This is Buffy, the vampire slayer, and this is Spike, the vampire. Why these guys haven't put two and two together is beyond me, but apparently they're here to help us with this Angel situation." To Buffy and Spike, she said, "The ghost is Dennis. He's kind of a roommate, I guess."  
  
"Uh, nice to meet you, empty air," Buffy said. The lights went out, the stereo went on, and the theme from "Ghostbusters" began playing.  
  
"Dennis! Stop that! Be nice!" Cordelia hissed. Reluctantly, the lights went back on and the music got softer, but still played. Cordelia sighed and explained, "He gets testy when people don't believe he's here."  
  
"Your roommate's a ghost. Check." Spike said. "No problem."  
  
"Well, can I get you anything? Tea? Mountain Dew? Diet Coke? O positive?" The four of them nodded.  
  
"Diet, please," Buffy said. Then something clicked, and she asked, "You keep blood in your fridge?"  
  
"Well, yeah," Cordelia said. "If you don't, it goes bad. O positive okay, Spike?"  
  
"Great," he replied happily. "Now, that's hospitality!" Things were going well for Spike. He was getting fed, he was with the slayer, he was finally going to get Dru off his back, and he was quite likely going to beat up and maybe even kill Angel sometime in the next few days. He sipped at the deli container that Cordelia brought him, leaned back, and smiled.  
  
Buffy looked away in disgust, but then noticed that none of the L.A. crew seemed to even notice that someone in their midst was actually drinking blood. "Ew," she said quietly to herself.  
  
"Oh, don't worry about that -- Angel used to do it all the time," Cordelia reassured her.  
  
"He never did it in front of me," Buffy countered.  
  
"Oh, well maybe he's just more comfortable around us," Cordelia said with a false sweetness.  
  
"More like 'e wanted you to forget 'e was a vampire," Spike observed to the slayer. "These three seem to have accepted it."  
  
"You don't know what you're talking about, Spike!" Buffy said sharply.  
  
"Well, he sure seems to have remembered it now," Gunn said. This brought the subject back to the reason they were all there. Wesley and Gunn told Buffy and Spike what had been happening. "He's been completely obsessed with Darla for weeks, and then Wolfram and Hart brought back Drusilla, and that's when he went off the deep end," Wesley explained.  
  
Buffy said nothing; she seemed to close slowly in upon herself the longer they talked. She really didn't want to hear about Angel's obsession with his dam; her feelings of loss, renewed by Riley's recent defection, were still very strong.  
  
Spike noticed, and tried to draw the conversation away from Angel and towards Drusilla. "So what about Dru? How'd these lawyers track her down? How long has she been in town?"  
  
"We don't know. We assume that, since Darla was dying of syphilis, they brought in Drusilla specifically to turn her."  
  
Spike rolled his eyes. "Yeah, she always wanted to 'ave a baby. Something as twisted as siring 'er own grandmother would be right up 'er street."  
  
"Twisted is right," Gunn said. "So what do we do about 'em all?"  
  
Buffy drew out her stake with a dry, wooden sound. "I have a good idea."  
  
"Well, yes, we rather assumed that would be the solution," Wesley said. "But the problem is, how do we find them?"  
  
"We find Angel," Buffy said in a flat voice. "We follow him to them. Then we kill them. If Angel really has gone bad again, we kill him too."  
  
"How can we be sure?" Wesley asked.  
  
Cordelia snorted. "Ya know, I'm sure! I'm the one he threatened to kill yesterday, remember?"  
  
"That could easily have been just to throw us off the track," Wesley maintained.  
  
"Let me find him," Spike said. "I'll be able to tell for sure." He drained his deli cup of the last drop of blood and stood up.  
  
"Not alone, you won't. I don't trust you not to kill him if he hasn't gone bad," Buffy said.  
  
"Fine, Slayer, we'll both go!"  
  
"Oh, this should be fun," Cordelia muttered to herself, sinking deeper into the couch beside Gunn.  
  
They slept that day in Cordelia's apartment, sprawled out over the couch and floor. Spike gallantly took the floor, which made Buffy eye him suspiciously as she stretched out on the couch. She didn't think she'd be able to sleep with her old enemy so near, but she was more tired than she'd thought and was soon sleeping peacefully.  
  
Spike pretended to sleep until he was sure the slayer was deep in slumber. Then he sat up and watched her. She was dreaming; she twitched and turned and made little noises. Soon it became obvious she was having a nightmare. Her breathing sped up and she moaned. "No. No. Not again," she muttered in her sleep. "No! I can't deal with this again!"  
  
Spike wisely chose not to touch her as he woke her up. "Slayer," he said quietly. "Buffy, wake up." Buffy stirred a little, but didn't wake. "Hey, Summers," he said a little louder. "Buffy, wake up." Her eyes snapped open, darting around frantically. "'Ere, calm down, Slayer. It's just me," he said. "You were 'aving a nightmare." Buffy stared at him until she started to figure out where she was. She said his name shakily. "Yeah, 's me," he said.  
  
"I was having a nightmare?" she asked in a whisper. He nodded. "So Angel's not bad again?"  
  
Spike took her hand gently. "That's what we're going to find out tomorrow," he said. "And listen, Slayer. Don't worry. You're not going to be alone with him, and if he is bad, I won't let 'im come near you. I promise."  
  
Buffy didn't draw her hand away, and seemed to relax just a little. "Okay," she said simply. She put her head back down and went back to sleep, still clasping Spike's hand.  
  
Spike, for his part, did not go to sleep but sat on the floor leaning up against the couch, and held the slayer's hand for the rest of the day. She slept calmly. Towards late morning, Spike fell asleep sitting up, still holding her hand.  
  
They woke late in the afternoon to an empty apartment. Cordy had left a note saying, "Buffy -- I went out for some groceries, be back in a while. You two were really cute this morning. What is it with you and vampires, anyway?" Buffy's face suffused with red and she tore the note into shreds, but Spike had already seen it. He didn't say anything; the smirk on his face said it all. He wisely didn't mention her nightmare, either, merely asking mildly if she wanted the first shower. She did.  
  
She came out in a much better mood. By then Cordelia was back with fresh eggs and blood for their breakfasts. She checked her phone messages and came into the kitchen. "We're in luck. Wesley went by the hotel and says Angel's still there. He didn't even go after Wes, just insulted him a lot. And hey, we all do that, so that's no proof either way." Cordelia smiled, pleased. She cracked a few eggs into a pan, but then was gently but firmly pushed into a chair as Dennis invisibly took over the cooking. Cordy shook her head. "Why is it no one around here thinks I can cook?"  
  
"So, uh, how do you want to handle this?" Buffy asked Spike a little awkwardly. "The going to see Angel, that is," she clarified.  
  
"Well, Buffy, if I were you, I'd avoid seeing Angel altogether," Cordelia interjected. "He did tell Giles that if you came up here he'd kill you -- "  
  
"'E'd kill himself trying," and "I'd like to see him try it!" Spike and Buffy both remarked in unison. They looked at each other quickly, then looked away.  
  
Cordelia ignored this. A plate of scrambled eggs landed on the table in front of her, then another in front of Buffy. "Thanks, Dennis. Buffy, not only that, but if he's not bad, shouldn't you stay away from him anyway? I mean, with your soldier-boyfriend gone, you should stay as far away from Angel as possible. If he's not all bad, you don't want to turn him that way." She finished with her characteristic bluntness and took a bite of egg.  
  
Buffy sighed. "Cordy, I'm not going back to Angel, no matter what. All I want to do is make sure he hasn't gone bad for real, then kill his 'hos and go home."  
  
"Sounds like a plan," Spike remarked. "Now, Cordelia, tell us about that hotel. How many entrances? Is there a way I can confront him and Buffy can hide out and watch?"  
  
They began to work out details on how to accomplish this, and finally came up with something that might work. The slayer and vampire left immediately. Buffy crept through the sewers to the hotel, while Spike sauntered boldly in the front door. Angel was there, working out, so deeply into his routine that it took him a full minute to realize Spike was there.  
  
"Allo, 'Daddy,' Spike said. Angel rushed him, and he stepped aside. Angel recovered quickly, faster than Spike expected, and punched him in the face. Spike fell, rolled, and got up again. "'Ere, what's this about? I only stopped in to say hello!" Spike said. Angel kicked his midsection. Spike flew several feet across the room and fell again. Angel followed, intent on pressing his advantage. Spike rolled to his feet again and threw a punch, hard.  
  
It landed. So did Angel, on his back on the floor.  
  
So did Spike, collapsing as he held his head and yelled in pain.  
  
"What the hell..?" Angel asked.  
  
"Bugger! Sod! Damn you to hell!" Spike swore, realizing that as long as his sire still had a soul, the chip would activate if he tried to kill Angel.  
  
"Been there, done that," replied Angel in a bored voice. "What are you doing here, Spike? What the hell is going on?"  
  
"Heard our girls were back in town. Thought I'd come up and pay my respects. Heard you'd gone bad again and came up to see if it's true -- but how can you be bad and still have your soul?"  
  
"Don't worry," Angel said grimly. "I won't let it keep me from killing you." And with that he proceeded to pummel Spike into a bloody mess. "Did you think I'd forget about the ring of Amara?" he asked. He broke a chair apart into makeshift stakes. "Did you think I'd just forgive you for tying me up and having me tortured with hot pokers all day?" He shoved a stake into Spike's abdomen. "Did you expect to come up here to MY town and be welcomed with open arms?" He shoved another one through Spike's shoulder. Angel didn't seem to notice that Spike wasn't trying to land any blows of his own as he beat on his childe.  
  
Bloody hell, Spike thought. Wasn't it just his luck, to be set up like this? Buffy couldn't kill him herself, so she was sitting there on the other side of the door, watching through the keyhole as her honey did it for her.  
  
Buffy was not, in fact, watching through the door as planned. As she crawled through the sewers, she got waylaid by two vampires. They didn't delay her too much, just enough to make her miss Spike's grand entrance and the beginnings of the fight. She finally arrived, muttered, "Hope I didn't miss too much!" and cracked the door open to watch the action.  
  
"Don't worry, I won't let it keep me from killing you!" she heard Angel say. Buffy was paralyzed in disbelief for the next few seconds -- could that be her loving and gentle vampire? Torturing his own offspring? She leaped to her feet and ran into the room.  
  
"Angel! Leave him alone! He can't fight back, you idiot!" she yelled.  
  
Angel snarled and turned on the intruder, stopping when he saw who it was. "Buffy! Didn't I tell you to stay out of my town? And you can damn well stay out of my business, too." He indicated Spike, who was curled into a fetal position on the floor, punctured, apparently unconscious, and bleeding profusely.  
  
"Spike is MY business, lover," she spat at Angel. "Now get out of my way!"  
  
Angel started to lose his temper all over again. "You can't come to my town and go lording it over me in my place, with my childe!"  
  
"Spike does not belong to you," Buffy said in a low, deadly voice. "And I don't know what your problem is, but you're not taking it out on him."  
  
"Buffy, you have no idea what my problems are! And you know nothing about vampires, so why don't you butt out and let me take care of my own?" He stared her down, then started toward Spike again. Buffy said his name, and then he had a stake coming out of his shoulder. He looked down in shock.  
  
"I know all I need to about vampires," Buffy said. "I know how to kill them. And I'll do it if you don't get out of my way." She brandished another stake at him as she shoved him so hard he fell. He hissed with pain. She picked up Spike and half-carried, half-dragged him out the door to the car. Tires squealed as she headed back to Cordelia's place.  
  
She got Spike up to the door and banged on it. "Cordy! Dennis! Someone, open up!" The door swung open and she dragged Spike in.  
  
Wesley and Gunn jumped up from the couch. "Dear Lord, what happened to him?" Wesley exclaimed.  
  
"Looks like he met the business end of a -- " Gunn said.  
  
" -- Angel." Buffy finished. "Here, guys, help me." Together they got Spike stretched out on the couch. To the unconscious vampire, Buffy said, "Sorry, Spike, but this is probably going to hurt." One by one, she tugged the stakes from his body. She took the new deli container of blood that Cordelia offered without a word and gently offered him a sip. "He might be able to heal a little, now. He sure bled a lot, though."  
  
"And you're sayin' Angel did this?" Gunn asked. "To his own spawn?" He shook his head. "Man! So do we know if he's bad or not?"  
  
Spike opened his eyes. He took another sip of blood and cleared his throat. "'E's still got 'is soul," he managed to say. His voice was hoarse. "But if it went out for a stroll, I don't think 'e'd miss it. Or even notice it was gone."  
  
"Oh, that's just great," Cordelia fumed. "And we can't even tie him up again, until it blows over, like last time -- because we have NO idea how long that will be!"  
  
"This happened before?" Buffy asked.  
  
"Yes. Angel got drugged, and it seemed to... loosen his inhibitions," Wesley explained.  
  
"Meaning he tried to kill us all over again," Cordelia summed up.  
  
"Man, glad that was before my time!" Gunn commented. "Don't think I would have messed with all the tyin' up, but got straight to the killin'."  
  
"Me too," Buffy said. "I don't tend to do well when Angel goes bad."  
  
Spike looked up at her. "I thought you did okay," he told her, his voice hoarse. "Didn't let the bugger end the world, now did you?" Buffy shrugged modestly, but held her head up a little higher and offered him some more blood.  
  
"Well, fun as all this deconstruction is, Wes and me actually got news," Gunn told them. "We think we know where the loony ladies are gonna strike again."  
  
"'Caritas.' It's a karaoke bar that caters to demons, and while they have strict anti-violence rules, we suspect these ladies aren't in the habit of following rules." Wesley explained. "I have a sort of spy who goes there a lot."  
  
"Yeah, we think they're gonna hit there tomorrow night, but we don't know if they're just going to recruit some demons, or tear the place apart."  
  
"Well, either way -- we'll have to be there before them." Buffy resolved. She asked Spike, "Think you can be recovered by then?"  
  
"Bloody well 'ave to be, won't I?" he said. "No fear. Just give me the rest of that, and I'll see what I can do." He tipped up the quart of blood and drained it. He groaned. "Now I just 'ave to sleep for a week and I should be fine for tonight."  
  
Accordingly, the others cleared out into the kitchen, while Buffy stayed behind a moment. "Spike, listen, I -- I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner. I got hung up with unexpected slayage in the sewers, but I came as soon as I could." The words didn't come easily; she wasn't used to apologizing to vampires. "A--and about earlier -- well, thanks for waking me. I owe you one."  
  
"'S okay, Slayer," Spike said. Her hand was resting lightly on his chest, and he touched it gently. "You already paid me back by getting me out of there. I didn't know I wouldn't be able to hit him," he said ruefully. "'Fraid I won't be able to hold up my end of the deal if he comes after you."  
  
"If he comes after me, I can take care of myself," Buffy said grimly.  
  
Spike grinned. "You know, it was worth almost getting dusted, to see you two square off again." He neglected to mention that he'd found it rather exciting on a couple of different levels. Buffy rolled her eyes and cuffed him lightly before she left him alone to join the others in the kitchen --  
  
-- where she found herself and Spike the main topic of conversation.  
  
"I can't figure out if she likes him or he likes her," Cordelia was saying. "But they were looking pretty cozy when I got up this morning. What is it with her and vampires, anyway?"  
  
"Um, maybe she likes to kill them?" Buffy volunteered from the doorway. "Cordy, relax. I had a nightmare this morning and Spike woke me up. That's all."  
  
"Riiiight. Of course," Cordelia said. "And the fact that you nearly killed yourself bringing him back here instead of letting Angel kill him means nothing." She offered a soda to Buffy, playing the part of a good hostess even as she gave her guest a hard time. "Which reminds me, why didn't you let Angel kill him? After what he put us through last year, he certainly had it coming."  
  
Buffy took a drink. "You know what? I don't have to explain myself to you. And I thought Angel was the one we had to worry about. Well, him and his precious Darla. And Drusilla." Shifting gears, she looked at Gunn and Wes. "So what's the plan for tomorrow night?"  
  
"We show up at the bar early and have a chat with the host. He's anagogic. He can read people's souls when they sing karaoke, and give them guidance. But I'll bet if we do it right, we can make killing them part of the entertainment -- technically still obeying the rules."  
  
Gunn grinned. "Now we just have to find some music to kill things by." There was a moment of silence, during which Dennis invisibly turned on the stereo and began playing "Another One Bites the Dust." They dissolved into laughter.  
  
Part 2  
  
The next night, they met at Caritas just before it opened. "Well, hello!" greeted the green-skinned host. "I know you three, but you two are new," he indicated Spike and Buffy. "Welcome to Caritas! You planning to sing again tonight?" he asked Cordy, Wes, and Gunn. He looked somewhat wary.  
  
"Oh, no. Not tonight," Wesley assured him.  
  
"You three sing?" Buffy asked them.  
  
"More like howl in pain," the host responded. "As did the rest of us. So what can I do for you kids tonight?"  
  
They explained what was probably going to happen that night. "Our girls aren't big on restrictions," Spike told him. "Of course, I know how they feel, but I've had to learn some lately. Anyway, mind if we wreak a little mayhem tonight? It's for a good cause: keeping them from wreaking a hell of a lot more."  
  
The host put his arm around Spike and Buffy thoughtfully and steered them away from the others a little bit. "Only on one condition, my fangéd friend. I'd really love to hear you and your companion sing tonight."  
  
"Us? Sing?" Buffy was aghast.  
  
Spike started to laugh. "How 'bout if I sing and she plays the drums?" he asked the host, remembering what they'd told Joyce the last time they'd teamed up against Angel. "She's hell on the old skins, you know." He refrained from meeting Buffy's glance, knowing she was glowering sternly at him.  
  
The host shook his horned head. "No, sorry. It has to be singing. Will you do it?"  
  
"Do we have a choice?" muttered Buffy.  
  
As usual, the host opened the night with a song himself, a smooth, lyrical rendition of "My Way." "Bugger," Spike remarked. "That's what I was going to sing." He winced as the host added a few vocal trills of his own. "But not like that!"  
  
Buffy and the other three weren't paying Spike or the green crooner much attention. Buffy was too busy trying not to throw up, while the other three were keeping their eyes on the entrances. "I can't do this," Buffy muttered. "I think I'm gonna be sick."  
  
"Come on, Buffy! We've all done it; now it's your turn!" Cordelia said heartily. "Just don't do Manilow -- this place has definitely had enough of that, with Angel around."  
  
"Angel has done this?" Buffy asked, incredulous. "You've got to be kidding!"  
  
"Manilow?" Spike just wanted to make sure of this. He took a sip of his beer to hide his laughter. "Might've known."  
  
Buffy put her head down on the table, whimpering. "I can't do this. I can't sing!"  
  
Wesley cleared his throat. "Um, Buffy, perhaps you should be worrying more about Darla and Drusilla than about your, uh, performance?"  
  
Buffy moaned and shook her head without lifting it. Voice muffled, she said, "No! Slaying vampires is something I'm good at. But singing -- ! I just can't do it!"  
  
Spike chuckled. "If only I'd known your weak spot before I got this chip in! Here, Slayer," he pushed the rest of his beer across the table to her. "Drink up and sing. I'll even let you go first."  
  
Buffy sat up. She took the beer and chugged it. Standing up, she said, "I'm ready. If Angel can do it, so can I." Next thing she knew, she was standing on the stage, holding the microphone and singing the lyrics that rolled up the screen. The melody was reasonably simple, and she managed to hit most of the notes. The important ones, anyway.  
  
_I used to be lunatic from the gracious days  
I used to be woebegone and so restless, nights  
My aching heart would bleed for you to see  
Oh but now... I don't find myself bouncing home whistling  
buttonhole tunes to make me cry  
_  
What was a 'buttonhole tune,' she wondered. She looked out at the sea of demon and the few human faces and to her relief, saw that only a few of them were looking at her. The green-skinned host caught her eye and winked, smiling. She shifted into the refrain -- oddly appropriate for visiting Angel's town right after Riley had gone.  
  
_No more "I love you's" The language is leaving me  
No more "I love you's" Changes are shifting outside the word  
I used to have demons in my room at night  
Desire, despair, desire, so many monsters  
  
_Oh God, she'd forgotten about that line when she chose the song! If only the others would forget that she'd had "demons in her room at night..." Almost afraid to look, she glanced at the rest of her companions sitting at their table not far from the stage. Sure enough, Cordelia was rolling her eyes and even Spike had a knowing smirk on his face since _he'd_ been the most recent demon in her room. Buffy started to lose what composure she had left. She stumbled through the buttonhole like again, fudged most of the second verse, and then began the final refrain.  
  
_No more "I love you's" Changes are shifting outside the word  
They were being really crazy; They were on the come.  
And you know what mammy? Everybody was being really crazy. Uh huh.  
The monsters are crazy. There are monsters outside.  
_  
She got some modest applause and sat back down with relief. "Well, Buffy, that was really, really bad," Cordelia said.  
  
"Better than our own rendition of 'We Are the Champions,' Cordelia," Wesley reminded her.  
  
"Your turn, William," Buffy said. "Get it over with quick, so we can be ready for the Demented Duo when they arrive."  
  
"No, I think I'll go on later, pet. We just got a new round -- I think I'll just relax with my pal the beer, here." Spike tapped his full glass of beer and smirked.  
  
Buffy raised her eyebrows, Excuse me? Then she bestowed a sweet smile on Spike as she deftly picked up his glass of beer and drained it. "There, your beer's gone, Spike. Go sing."  
  
Shaking his head, the vampire got lazily to his feet and headed for the stage. After several minutes of perusing the selections, he found one that made him grin. The beat was fast and heavy, and a few people started dancing as he sang. His singing voice was a little rough, but on key, in tune, and definitely suited for the song.  
  
_I got a gal who lives on the wrong side of town  
I know what I want and man you know I sure know how  
It's the other side, another place  
I like it there, no accounting for taste  
_  
He'd had a premonition just as he was starting the first verse, and as he was singing the last two lines of it -- sure enough, Darla walked in. Her eyes were drawn to him as to a magnet, and her mouth dropped open and she started to laugh. Spike caught her eye and shrugged, then started to flirt with her a little as he sang,  
  
_I can't think of nothing when I'm without her  
But the wind and the rain and the cemetery dirt  
_  
Spike grinned again, and started playing it up -- dancing a little and giving Darla a playful growl. He and Darla had never had a serious falling-out, but she had always annoyed him -- especially after Angel's soul-filled defection and Darla's return to the Master. He didn't think she would remember their old spats, though, and he sang as if the song was directed to her. He laughed inside as he envisioned her reaction to finding out the slayer was there. Spike sang the refrain,  
  
_Went down to the cemetery looking for love  
Got there and my baby was buried - I had to dig her up  
_  
His actions and attention toward Darla had had the desired effect; the slayer and her pals knew the vampire was there, and had their heads together to formulate a plan. He wondered where Dru was; he didn't see her. He bared his fangs at Darla again as he sang the next verse, and she approached the stage, smiling.  
  
_18,000 miles across nowhere land  
I'm scratching and I'm spitting, there ain't nobody listening,  
and things are kind of getting out of hand  
There's only one point that I'd like to make: These kinds of things deteriorate  
Well, it's the gospel truth man -- And she's embalmed in love juice!  
_  
Spike got another idea. He beckoned to Darla, and she joined him on the stage. He put a possessive arm around her and gestured 'ain't she pretty' to the audience as he sang the final refrain:  
  
_Went down to the cemetery looking for love  
Got there and my baby was buried - I had to dig her up__  
Went down to the cemetery - Went down to the cemetery  
_  
The music wound up to a crescendo, and as it reached its height, he very calmly shook the stake out of his sleeve and shoved it into her heart in time with the final drumbeat. She looked betrayed for just an instant, and Spike smiled and blew her a mocking kiss as she turned to dust.  
  
He got a few seconds of bewildered applause from the audience, who had loved his performance but weren't quite sure about the finale. Spike put his human face back on and headed back to his table as the host stood up to introduce the next number and keep things calm.  
  
"What the hell was that?" Buffy hissed.  
  
He shrugged. "Singing. A little dancing. A fairly uneventful staking. Why, don't you ever have those?" he teased. He was in a terrific mood.  
  
"No, Spike, I mean the song!"  
  
He just grinned. "What? You don't like Canadian bands?"  
  
"Well, it seems that Darla is, uh, taken care of," Wesley said inanely.  
  
"Yeah, so where's Drusilla?" Gunn asked. "Thought those two were attached at the hip. Maybe we should keep a guard on the doors."  
  
"You three keep an eye out in here. Spike and I can watch the doors," Buffy said, grabbing Spike's arm and pulling him to his feet. She pushed him toward one of the doors with the injunction to stay sober for God's sake, and headed toward the other door to keep watch. Spike thought her directive was just a bit rich, as the slayer herself had finished both his beers. He hoped she had a higher tolerance than he thought she had.  
  
They endured several more numbers of varying quality. Privately, Buffy thought none of them measured up to Spike's performance even if the song he chose bespoke a sick and twisted mind.  
  
There was no sign of Drusilla. Buffy was beginning to think she wasn't going to show up, when a sudden motion at the opposite door caught her eye. Spike was rigid, staring at the stage. Buffy edged closer and noticed he'd gone white around the lips, and his cigarette had fallen from his nerveless fingers. She went closer and touched his arm. "Spike, are you all right?"  
  
"Oh, God," he moaned. "Look."  
  
There upon the stage stood Drusilla, with her divining grey eyes fixed on both of them. The host introduced her, and said to be nice because she was new in town.  
  
"How'd she get by us?" Buffy asked. Spike didn't respond, but began to move slowly toward the stage. "Spike? Spike! If she's doing any mind-mojo on you, don't let her!"  
  
Then Drusilla started to sing. Her voice wasn't loud, but it was low and true. She sang directly to Spike, with a knowing expressionon on her face:  
  
_... Why am I standing out here alone  
I guess I don't know enough to come in from the rain  
I was watching your window from here below  
I think I just might stay here all day...  
_

When she got to the part about watching the window, that's when Spike knew he was screwed. Damn, damn, and damn! Why did he ever have to hook up with a clairvoyant lunatic? Drusilla knew his secret, and would soon make sure everyone else knew, too. He closed his eyes and let his head hang forward when she got to the refrain. She sang with an attitude of gloating,  
  
_If I can't love you I don't want to love you  
If I can't hold you I don't want to be thinking of you  
And if you don't want me I don't want to want you  
And if you won't see me I don't know what to do  
But oh keep watching you Oh I keep watching you  
Until I see right through Oh I keep watching you  
_  
Buffy was fuming. How dare this insane 'ho sneak in and steal their idea? Did she want to have her vampire equivelent of a soul read by the host? Or was she just playing with them? She stole another glance at Spike, who looked beaten. Little too much family togetherness for him in one day, she thought, thinking of Angel. Poor guy just can't handle this blast from the past. Then she realized what the lyrics of the song were saying, and she began to understand. Drusilla was mocking Spike. Just what for, she didn't know, but she was beginning to get an idea. When Dru got to the second verse and sang,  
  
_You could throw me down a cigarette  
I smoked my last one quite a while ago  
_  
Buffy remembered seeing all the cigarette butts Spike had left behind when he'd been lurking outside her house. She remembered all the time he had taken with her, to tell her about his past. Funny, Angel had never done that. She had learned more about Angel from Spike's stories than from the man himself in the whole four years they'd been together. She thought Spike had probably been right when he said Angel had wanted her to forget he was a vampire. And why had Spike helped her? It hadn't been for the cash; she'd found it all back in her pocket after he'd left her house that night. It had been to help her stay alive. Pure and simple.  
  
While she mused, Drusilla finished singing the rest of the second verse and began the chorus again. Buffy touched Spike's arm gently to get his attention.  
  
_And if you don't want me I don't want to want you  
And if you won't see me I don't know what to do  
But oh keep watching you Oh I keep watching you  
Until I see right through Oh I keep watching you  
_  
Spike met her eyes in the middle of this, with a haunted pain, and all of Buffy's suspicions were confirmed. Spike was in love with her! Spike loved her with all the intensity of his former passion for Drusilla, the woman who was now tormenting him. Buffy remembered writing in her journal how romantic the two of them had been together, even if they were blood-sucking demons. Hmph, she needn't have worried about Spike going back to Dru!  
  
Drusilla watched them, her steel-grey eyes never faltering as she sang,  
  
_Sure I'm all right -- No, I'm not very cold  
_  
"Want to bet?" Buffy muttered. She'd seem the kind of torture and cruelty vampires could inflict, but she'd never seen such blatant emotional brutality as Drusilla was showing now.  
  
_So go on inside, I'll leave you alone_  
  
she sang as she mocked the quiet hopelessness of Spike's love for the slayer. While Drusilla had been singing, she had drawn them closer with her eyes and they now stood together almost right in front of the stage. Buffy had had enough. With one leap she was beside Dru on the stage, interrupting the final chorus. She backhanded Dru as hard as she could and the woman fell off the stage. Right next to Spike.  
  
The patrons of the bar sat watching, transfixed. Gunn ordered another round for their table. Cordelia gave him an 'oh, please' look. "What?" Gunn said. "They look to you like they need help?"  
  
Cordelia looked back at them and shrugged. "Well, I guess not."  
  
Wesley smiled. "Well, you have to admit, this is more entertaining than the usual karaoke fare."  
  
Drusilla stood up and saw Spike. She hissed and tried to claw his face. Her spell over him had broken, however, as soon as he'd seen Buffy jump up onto the stage. He blocked her easily.  
  
"Listen to me," he grated as he grabbed both her hands. With a smooth motion, he twisted upward and broke both her wrists. "You stupid, worthless bitch," he went on, "I don't know why I wasted so many decades of my life with you!" He smashed her face with his fist. Picked her up bodily and threw her back onto the stage.  
  
Buffy grabbed her and bashed Dru's head against the wall. "It was bad enough when you were just a loony," she remarked conversationally. "But I just have to draw the line when you turn into a mean loony!"  
  
" His heart's too full of you, dearie," Drusilla managed to say. She ducked the next blow and offered one of her own.  
  
Spike shifted into his game face and pushed one of the demon patrons off his chair. He smashed the chair against the floor and broke off a leg to serve as a makeshift stake. "Worked for Angel," he muttered to himself. He braced himself and waited for the slayer to send Dru his way again.  
  
She didn't disappoint. Buffy punched Drusilla's nose hard enough to make the blood spray. She picked up the microphone stand and smashed Dru on the head with it. Drusilla staggered under the impact, off balance. Buffy gave her a good shove and the vampire fell off the stage --  
  
-- and onto Spike's waiting stake.  
  
"Leaving so soon?" Spike sneered.  
  
Drusilla made one parting shot before crumbling into dust. "You left me for 'er three years ago."  
  
Buffy jumped down beside Spike as his stake clattered to the floor.  
  
Part 3  
  
The dust settling, the patrons didn't quite know what to do. Caritas' no-violence rule had been inviolate until now. Wesley and the others knew that none of them would leave alive if the demon-patrons were turned loose to wreak destruction. Thinking fast, Cordelia leaped to her feet, applauding wildly.  
  
Catching on quickly, Gunn and Wesley did the same. One by one, the rest of the patrons were conned into believing this was just an unusual entertainment that had been planned. They started clapping too. Soon everyone in the room was standing up applauding loudly. Some were shouting "Bravo!" Spike and Buffy were beginning to recover enough to give the audience a small bow and shaky smiles to each other --  
  
-- when Angel walked in.  
  
He was in black head to toe, and he carried a giant axe. The weapons checker followed him in, saying loudly, "Sir, please! No weapons allowed in Caritas!" Angel ignored him.  
  
Wesley saw him first, and swiftly made his way over to Buffy and Spike. Cordelia and Gunn followed suit. Slowly, the rest of the patrons began to calm down from the excitement, and called for the group to get out of the way so they could see the next performer.  
  
The five of them prepared to confront Angel.  
  
"Angel." Wesley said. "Glad you made it."  
  
"You guys should get out of here," Angel told them coldly. "There's going to be some violence in a few minutes."  
  
"No violence in Caritas!" the weapons checker insisted.  
  
"Listen, I'm sick of following the rules! I'm going to rid the world of those two, once and for all! I got a heads-up they were coming here tonight. When they show up, they'll die."  
  
Buffy was still furious at Angel for torturing Spike, but could see the humor in the situation. She turned to Spike and made a big show of addressing just him. "Gee, can you still call that a prophetic statement if it's after the fact?"  
  
Angel said, "What do you mean?"  
  
Spike turned Angel's quote from the previous night back on him. "Been there, done that," he said, conspicuously brushing Drusilla-dust from his hands and coat. He brushed by Angel, shoving him with his shoulder as he passed, and went out.  
  
"What are you guys talking about?" Angel asked, confused.  
  
Cordelia handled his enlightenment with her usual tact. "They showed up, we killed them, you missed it."  
  
"So check your big ol' fighting axe and come have a drink with us," Gunn suggested. "We'll fill you in, just as long as you're not all badass again and tryin' to kill us all."  
  
"I don't kill humans," Angel said automatically. He looked up to all raised eyebrows. "Well, I don't! I just thought I could have a better chance at killing Darla and Dru if I did it alone." They made their way back to the original table.  
  
"Boy, what a great idea that was!" Cordy mocked. "And so effective!"  
  
"You mean they're really dead?"  
  
"Yeah," Gunn said.  
  
"Both of them? Dead?" Angel pressed.  
  
"Yup!" Cordelia said brightly.  
  
"Are you sure? I mean, you all saw it happen?"  
  
"Yes, Angel, we all saw it. Can we please sit down now?" Wesley asked.  
  
Angel glanced at Buffy, who gave him a 'duh!' look and nodded yeah, they're dead. She shook her head and went out to find Spike.  
  
"So tell me what happened," Angel requested.  
  
"No."  
  
"No?" Angel stared at Wesley. "What do you mean, no?"  
  
"We aren't under any obligation to explain anything to you, Angel. We're just having a friendly drink together. We don't work for you anymore."  
  
Gunn ordered another round, with a Bloody Mary for Angel. "That's right, man. Too bad, too. It's a pretty funny story, too." To the other two, he said, "Weren't you guys breaking up over that song? What a finale!" They started laughing.  
  
"Yeah!" Cordelia said. "'Went to the cemetery!' then, 'POOF!' I think that was the last thing Darla was expecting!"  
  
Angel began to understand. "You guys really aren't going to tell me, are you?" They shook their heads, grinning. "All right, I see what you're doing. Do you three want your old jobs back?"  
  
"Wrong question, Angel!" Cordelia said, with the biggest smile he'd ever seen on her face.  
  
Angel thought a moment, looked around at Gunn and Wesley, who had smiles big to match Cordelia's, and realized what they wanted him to do. "Um, can -- can I have my old job back?"  
  
"Only on the condition that you listen to us more. Things have got to change! From now on, you're working for your redemption whether you like it or not!"  
  
Angel sighed. "Fine. Now will you please explain to me what happened tonight? What is Spike doing here? And while you're explaining things... what the hell is with him and Buffy?"  
  
"Who knows?" Cordelia said. "It's like this love/hate thing -- only we can't figure out if it's love or hate. Anyway, you knew I called Giles, right?"  
  
"I wouldn't have hurt you, Cordy," Angel said, shamefaced. "I just wanted to keep you away so you wouldn't get hurt."  
  
"Yeah, I think we got that. Anyway, Giles sent them both up here to help us out..." and the three of them told Angel all about the events of the past few nights, starting with what Giles had told her about the Initiative and the chip in Spike's head and ending with Drusilla's death at his hands. Stake. Whatever.  
  
The host approached their table. "Angel! How's it going? Haven't seen you here much lately."  
  
Angel looked grim. "You will. Seems I need a lot of guidance."  
  
The host patted Angel's shoulder. "Good for you! It takes a real man to admit he's been a total schmuck, you know," he said with a beaming smile.  
  
Gunn and the others hid their grins.  
  
"So I guess you'll be singing again, huh?" the host said, with much less enthusiasm. Angel nodded, and the host sighed and patted his shoulder again. "Well, we can't have everything."  
  
Buffy went looking for Spike. It was quite late now, only an hour or two before dawn, and the streets were deserted. She finally found him down a narrow side street sitting on the bottom step of a fire escape, smoking. He heard her coming, but didn't stand up. He just lifted the cigarette to his lips again, taking one long drag before tossing it into the street to join the others he'd flicked there while he waited.  
  
"Spike? Are you okay?" Buffy asked. She felt a little awkward approaching him, now that she knew his heart.  
  
He looked up with dark fathomless eyes. "Should I be?"  
  
"Scooch over," Buffy said. She climbed the narrow stairs beside him and sat down two steps above him on the fire excape.  
  
The host of Caritas came around the corner and saw them. "Ah, just the pair I was looking for!" He noticed their postures and said, "Boy, I don't have to tell you two a thing, do I? Talk about wearing your hearts on your sleeves!" He shook his head and went back into the bar. Buffy reached out a tentative hand and touched Spike's hair, stroking it gently. He sighed, and leaned back against her with his eyes closed.  
  
After a while, without opening his eyes, Spike asked, "So did you know? Before tonight?"  
  
Buffy knew he was referring to his feelings for her. She shrugged. "I hadn't actually allowed the thought to cross my conscious mind." Another thought struck here. "But if you wanted to be a really good stalker, you wouldn't smoke so much." She indicated the small collection of cigarette butts that he'd started near the fire escape already. Spike chuckled, then fell silent again. Buffy went on stroking his hair in silence until she'd formulated a question of her own. "What is it you want from me, Spike?"  
  
A beat, then, "A chance."  
  
Buffy had to be honest with him. "I don't know if I can give you that. I appreciate all you've done, but still -- at the end of the day..." she let the statement trail off.  
  
"...is when I wake up. I know," Spike finished it for her. He turned slightly so he could look her in the eye and told her seriously, "Luv, I'm not going to lie to you. I'm still a vampire. Will always be a vampire. Given the choice, I'd still rather wreak havoc and have fun, not to mention be able to defend myself against humans. And my sire." Buffy wondered how often he'd had to run away from humans who were after him-- and then felt a wave of cold rage as she remembered how Angel had beaten and tortured Spike the night before, when he couldn't even fight back. Spike continued, "If I had this chip out, I'd happily go back to the killing." He reached up and touched her face gently as he finished, "Unless you asked me not to."  
  
Buffy dropped her eyes. "Spike, I don't know -- I mean, well, everything's confused."  
  
Spike shrugged and stood up. "Listen, slayer, I don't want anything from you that you're not ready to give." He offered her a hand up. "I already owe you my life for getting me away from Angel last night."  
  
This got Buffy angry again. "Spike, what was he talking about, when he said something about your being his child and I don't know anything about vampires?"  
  
"Oh," Spike shrugged it off. "It's just, by the rules of vampire society, he owns me. He can pretty much do as he likes with me." He grinned at her and lit another cigarette.  
  
Buffy just raised her eyebrows. "Um, at the risk of actually sounding like I'm giving you a compliment, you don't exactly seem the type to, uh, submit."  
  
Spike took a drag on his cigarette. "I've never been one to follow the rules." On an impulse, he tossed his cigarette and grabbed the slayer, turning her to face him. He gave her a gentle shove so she backed up against the building -- he knew he didn't hurt her; his chip didn't give him so much as a faint twinge. He put his face near hers and whispered, "How 'bout it, slayer? Want to break a rule or two with me?" One hand idly twisted a strand of her hair while the other slid around to caress her neck.  
  
Buffy's hands came up to rest on his chest, but didn't push him away. "Spike," she whispered his name. Her emotions were jumbled -- she didn't know whether to continue and let him kiss her, or push him away and beat him up.  
  
While she was still trying to make up her mind, Spike's lips touched hers, and that was the last of her coherent thoughts for a while. His lips were smooth and soft, just like she remembered from the time they'd been engaged. Her thoughts were spinning as she remembered small, disjointed images, like the notebook they'd used to plan their wedding. She wondered if she could still find it. She thought of the times he'd saved her life, or just been nice to her, and she hadn't even given him a kind word.  
  
Spike felt like he was drowning. He was surrounded by the slayer's scent, her presence, her aura of sheer power. Her mouth clung to his, and his hands tangled in her hair as he gave himself over to getting lost in her.  
  
Buffy felt his intensity, felt in danger of losing herself too, and had to back off a little. She broke the kiss and pushed him back a step. "Spike, I -- this is too fast. Please," she added, not knowing exactly what she was asking for.  
  
Spike was flustered and disappointed, but covered it well. "Uh, sure. Right. No problem." He leaned against the wall next to her and stared up at the sky. They shared an awkward 'what do we do now?' moment. "Want to go back in?" he asked. "We can watch my ass of a sire feel guilty as hell again. That's always fun."  
  
Buffy considered this. "Nah. I think they're just recapping the evening for Angel. I've seen him guilty as hell before. 'S nothing new." She got an idea. "Want to spar with me?"  
  
"Wish I could!" Spike said with feeling. "Can't do it without the pain, though. If I hurt you, I hurt me. And," he paused, considering, "I don't really want to hurt either of us."  
  
Buffy grinned, excited at the chance to spar with her old enemy again. "Don't worry, Spike. That chip in your head won't even activate." Spike took off his coat and tossed it aside. They started to circle in the middle of the street. "Know why?"  
  
"Tell me."  
  
Buffy landed the first blow. "You'll never even touch me!" Spike aimed a kick and she dodged, then threw a punch which he ducked. She grabbed him by the shirt-front and threw him against the wall. He laughed and started to loosen up a little. He shoved her out into the deserted street, but she kept her feet and neither of them felt any pain. He laughed again exultantly, throwing his head back in delight. It had been so long -- !  
  
-- since he'd landed flat on his back in the street, with the slayer following the kick with a body slam. "Oof!" He went game-faced and threw a leg over the slayer, pinning her down. He rolled them over so he was on top of her. He growled down at her -- then winked. He pinned her hands down above her head, threw his head back and roared, then leaned down to graze her neck lightly with his fangs.  
  
She gasped.  
  
And then Spike was gone, and Angel stood over her. "Are you okay?" he asked. She nodded, confused.  
  
Angel ran to where Spike had landed, half-sprawled over a parked car. Angel grabbed Spike by the throat. He shook the smaller vampire in his grip like a terrier shaking a rat, and smashed Spike's head against the wall several times. Spike tried to collapse, to curl up and minimize the damage, but Angel was having none of it. He'd been sure that the 'government chip' was just a ploy of Spike's to get close to the slayer, and now he had proof. He'd seen them fighting, he'd seen Spike about to bite the slayer. He was in a towering rage.  
  
Buffy ran towards them, panicked.  
  
"You're going to die for this, boy!" Angel growled. He smashed Spike's head into the wall one final time. A stake slid into his palm...  
  
And into Spike's body.  
  
"Spike! No!" Buffy screamed. She reached him in time to snatch the stake back out, but it was too late. Spike reached out to her, but his body crumbled into ashes. "No!" Buffy wailed, falling to her knees. She sifted the dust through her fingers, sobbing. Only seconds earlier, this had been a man who loved her.  
  
"Buffy?" Angel said quietly. He crouched down beside her. He touched her shoulder lightly. "Buffy?"  
  
She shrugged off his touch. "What right did you have?" she demanded in a ragged voice.  
  
"He was mine. I made him." Angel defended himself.  
  
"He hasn't hurt anyone in months!" The bitterness in Buffy's voice was like a blow. "He couldn't fight back! Don't tell me you didn't notice that the other night -- or were you too busy shoving pointy things into him? Practicing for tonight?" Buffy stood up quickly.  
  
Angel started to stand. Buffy clipped him in the jaw with her boot and he went sprawling sideways on the pavement. She drove her boot into his stomach, not being overly careful about his ribs. "Bastard!" she hissed. Angel tried to get up, but she grabbed a handful of shirt-front and punched his face hard enough so the back of his head made a sharp smacking sound on the asphault. She liked this enough to do it a few more times.  
  
Wesley, Cordy, and Gunn had followed Angel out in time to see Spike's demise. The three stood together on the corner watching the action. "Should we, perhaps, intervene?" Wesley asked hesitantly.  
  
Cordelia shook her head. "I don't think she'll kill him. And it looks like Angel just killed Buffy's new boyfriend. He's got it coming."  
  
Gunn agreed. "Yeah, plus he fired us."  
  
Wesley nodded. "Good point."  
  
"So how long do we let this go on?" Gunn asked.  
  
Cordelia blinked at him. "You think we could stop it if we tried?" she said as they watched Angel fly through the air several feet and land on the hood of the parked car with one foot hanging off.  
  
Buffy grabbed the foot and tugged Angel off the car. His head smacked the street again. "Buffy," he said weakly. He coughed out some blood and struggled to his feet. Drops of blood hit the pavement with tiny wet plops as he stood unsteadily, holding on to the car. "Buffy, what's the big deal? Why's Spike so important?"  
  
"You're his sire and you don't know the first thing about him!" she replied. "Why don't you ask the gang back home what the big deal is? We're the ones he's helped, whose lives he's helped save! What did he ever get from you? You stole his girlfriend, beat him up, and tortured him!" Buffy gave him a swift uppercut to the jaw, snapping his head back. "And don't stand there and tell me about his torturing you for the Gem of Amara. If it weren't for him, you wouldn't even have the ring!"  
  
Angel's world was starting to close in on him, darkening around the edges a little. He knew he wouldn't be conscious much longer. "I don't have the ring," he managed to say. "... destroyed it."  
  
"You destroyed the ring of Amara?" Buffy asked, disbelieving. She shook her head. "I should have let Spike keep it."  
  
Angel struggled to hold on to his conscious mind. "He's - was - an animal, Buffy," he maintained.  
  
Buffy backed up a little, and happened to see Spike's leather coat that he'd thrown carelessly aside to spar with her. She went pale. "You're disgusting!" she exclaimed as she got a running start --  
  
-- to kick him in the groin as hard as her enhanced slayer-strength would allow. Angel arched backward and crumpled into a small, agonized heap.  
  
Gunn and Wesley both grunted and doubled over in sympathy. "Whoa, I bet that hurt," Cordelia commented cheerily.  
  
Angel didn't move. Her adrenaline rush suddenly gone, Buffy almost staggered as she went over to pick up the coat. She slid her arms into it, and noticed the first rays of dawn beginning to lighten the sky. As if in confirm her observation, one of the light-sensitive streetlights went out. She looked over at Angel's employees. "You guys better get him inside," she said wearily. As she walked slowly past them, she stopped Cordelia. "Cordy, thanks for letting us stay at your place."  
  
"Sure, Buffy. Any time." Cordelia knew better than to be snippy. "Uh, I'm sorry about Spike. You guys worked great together."  
  
The slayer managed a wan smile. "Thanks." She watched Wes and Gunn pick up Angel and carry him towards Gunn's truck. "Hope things work out with... everything. Tell Dennis and the guys I said bye and good luck." And with that, Buffy left the City of Angels.  
  
It was a broken, beaten Buffy who drove herself back to Sunnydale in the black DeSoto. She listened to a "Headstones" album in the tape deck and wore Spike's leather coat. She figured it was fitting; it had come from another slayer, after all. Plus it still smelled of him. She passed the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign and thought how fun it would be to just plough into it -- but she didn't have the energy to do it for real. She drove straight to Giles' house, where he and Willow had their heads together over her laptop.  
  
Buffy parked the DeSoto at a rakish angle in the street and went in without knocking. She didn't greet them, didn't sit down; she just stood by the door and told them all that had happened. She didn't leave anything out -- what was the point? Spike was dead now, and if the others thought any less of her for having fallen in love with him, so what? It couldn't be any less than what she thought of herself for letting him get killed. She finished with telling them about the fight with Angel. "And then I just got back into the car and came home. Well, I stole an album from the bar first -- then I came home." With the ending of the story, all the strength seemed to leave her body. She dissolved into tears and sank down onto the couch.  
  
Willow was with her in an instant and held her, rocking with her until she stopped shaking so much. She looked a question at Giles over Buffy's head, but he shook his head.  
  
After she got calmed down, Giles suggested she take a shower and a nap, offering his room. Utterly worn out by the events of the night and the long drive, Buffy was asleep within seconds after she went to bed.  
  
Giles pulled the blanked up to cover her and smoothed a strand of her hair before he went back downstairs. Willow looked up from the "Wolfram & Hart" homepage on her computer. "Giles? "Why didn't you want to tell Buffy that we found that spell they used?"  
  
He poured himself a shot of Scotch whiskey before sitting down on the couch. "Well, I'd like to contact Wesley and find out more about Wolfram and Hart before we jump to any conclusions. I want to make sure first that the spell works, and second that you and Tara can do it."  
  
Willow agreed. "Okay, so I'll call them later today and find out how accurate all these encrypted files are that I found on Wolfram and Hart. And if it is I'll go over to Tara's and go over it with her."  
  
Giles took a sip of his Scotch. "There's also the question of -- of whether she'll want the spell done. After all, they weren't together very long. If she developed, uh, feelings for Spike, they may well be a result of their being thrown together so soon after Riley's departure."  
  
Willow shook her head. "No. Spike was part of what went wrong between her and Riley." Giles looked skeptical, but she insisted. "Giles, trust me on this. She talked so much more about Spike all the time than she did about Riley. Didn't you ever notice? I mean, she went on and on about how annoying he was and everything, but when's the last time she said anything at all about Riley?" Willow looked away, blushing a little, and said a little quieter, "Plus there are her diaries."  
  
Giles looked up sharply. "Willow, you've read Buffy's diaries?"  
  
"Well, not all of them," she defended. "Just the ones that Spike features in. I -- I just wanted to know if my suspicions were true!"  
  
Giles lifted his eyebrows. "I see," he commented.  
  
"A -- and they were." Willow sat back on the couch, feeling vindicated. "Of course Buffy didn't exactly realize what her feelings were, but I can read between the lines."  
  
"I see," he said again, amused. He finished his Scotch and set the glass down. "Very well, Willow. Why don't we call Wesley and Cordelia now, and see if perhaps we can't have some good news for Buffy when she wakes up."  
  
Buffy slept until late in the evening and came downstairs feeling rested, but brittle and empty. "Giles, hey. Thanks for letting me crash here today."  
  
"Oh, Buffy, not at all. Uh, please sit down; I think we need to talk." Giles stood when she entered the room. "Can I get you a cup of tea?"  
  
She shook her head. "Nah." She sank down into the chair opposite Giles'. "What's up? 'Cause if this is a debriefing of last night, I'd really rather put it off if you don't mind."  
  
"Uh, no. Not at all. In fact, this is more about the future than the past." Giles indicated the computer. "You did know that Wolfram and Hart had brought back Darla as a living human?"  
  
Buffy nodded quickly, not wanting to think about Darla. "Yeah... What does this have to do with the future?"  
  
Giles took a deep breath. "Willow found the spell." Buffy looked up, startled. Giles nodded. "Yes. If you wish us to, we might be able to bring back Spike. As a living human."  
  
Giles watched his unconscious slayer hit the floor and as he picked her up, grumbled, "I told Willow we shouldn't tell her so soon!"  
  
END


End file.
